Artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard (of whom I am a big fan) have made a very stylised, visually compelling, and thoroughly watchable film on musician Nick Cave, which was screened last night at the New Zealand International Film Festival. It’s been called a “pseudo-documentary” and indeed it is highly staged, beautifully shot, and if improvised, draws a great deal on Cave’s writings, notes, and friendships with such people as his longtime collaborator Warren Ellis, who at times almost steals the film, as when he recounts witnessing the erratic performative antics of Jerry Lee Lewis and Nina Simone. If Cave seems to almost camp up his persona (would one expect any less?) he is also insightful, articulate, and utterly romantic when discussing his artistic goals: “It’s about what lies beneath the surface of reality, like the humps of a sea monster. The goal in music and performing is to tempt that monster to the surface.”
